Spring needle knitting machine and individual presser therefor



m W o H K SPRING NEEDLE KNITTING MACHIEE AND INDIVIDUAL PRESSER THEREFORFiled Aug. 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Mar. 31, .1936

UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE.

seams NEEDLE 2,036,144 v KNITTING MACHINE AND INDIVIDUALQPR ESSERTHEREFOR Kenneth Howie, Norristown, Pa... assignmto Wildm tion ofPennsylvania,

an Mfg. 00., Norrlstown, Pa. a corpora-' Application August 27, 1935,Serial No. 38,123 InGreat Britain APl'il 23, 1934 Claims.

of a knitting machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of cam means and associated means for controllingthe pressers, and with said cam means in retracted position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig-2 but with the cam means in advancedposition to act on certain of the needle pressers. I

Fig. 4 is a face-view of apart of the machine showing the .cam'organization in elevation.

Fig. 5 shows pressers.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a wall of the needle cylinder andthe dial and cam box.

Fig. '7 is a view similar to the upper part of Fig. 1, but with theupper presser cam held in retracted position relative to the upper endof the presser. I

Fig. 8 is ablan view of part of the means shown in Fig. 1 for adjustingand holding the upper presser cam.

Fig. 9 is a front view of the parts of Fig. 8.

In the drawings l indicates the pressers, there being one of these foreach spring beard needle.

These pressers are arranged in vertical slots cut in the needle cylinder2, wherein they are held by spring bands 3, 4. These bands. are in theform of a closely coiled spiral spring. v

The spring band 3 serves as a fulcrum upon which the pressers may rockand the other band 4 serves as means by which the pressers are rocked tonormal position after having been operated by cam means hereinafterdescribed. The spring beard needles arelocated in the vertical groovesor slots of the needle cylinder or carrier.

The pressers are of spcial formation at their lower ends in that theyare provided each with a recess la at its outer edge} the upper part ofsaid recess being defined at its upper end by an overhanging projectionlb of curved ,form providing an edge curved on the arc of a circle tofurnish a seat on the under side of said projection for contact with thespring band 3. This '55 curved edge of this seat is struck from thecenter (Cl. Bit-101) of the circular cross section of the spring band,so that the presser may turn on the band as a pivot. The recess Id of'the presser is defined at its lower end by an outwardly curved end toof the presser shank. This curved end furnishes 5 a seat for the lowerspring band 4.

The pressers are moved into position for performing their pressingactions on the needle beards by cam means and as shown in Fig. 5

the pressers at their outer edges have different 10 formations relativeto each other so that the cam means when set to operate certain of thepressers will miss others. Thus regular stitches will be formed on someof the spring beard needles while,

in the same course, tuck stitches will be formed on certain others ofthe needles, it being understood, as in the patent above referred to,that the row of pressers and the cam means have relative traversingmovement in a direction along the. presser row, the machine being ofeither the type in which the needle cylinder or carrier moves while thecam organization is relatively fixed or the type in which the reverse istrue.

The different formation of the pressers whereby some are operated by thecam means and others miss the cam means is provided by variably cuttingaway portions of the outer margins of the pressers. Thus in Fig. 5 thefirst presser counting from the right is cut away to the point 3;,

leaving a relative high part or butt at this part for contact with thecam means. The next presser to the right has an edge formation differingfrom that of the first presser, thus leaving a high part or buttdisposed at a different level y from that of the high part a:, and so onthroughout the series. r

Reverting to the first presser at the left of Fig.

5 we will suppose that the cam means is adjusted so as to engage thehigh part or butt. This presser and all similar presers having highparts or butts at the same level will be operated by the cam means whenadjusted into line therewith so that all the needles individual to theseparticular pressers will be operated to press the needle beards formaking regular stitches while the other pressers of the 'row individualto the other needles will not be operated by the cam means and hence thebeards of the corresponding needles will not be pressed and regularstitches will.

not be formed, but on the contrarytuck stitches will bejormed on theseneedles whose pressers have been missed by the cam means. and thus thefabric will have regular knit stitches interspersed with tuck stitches.

In Fig. 2'is shown cam means consisting of a ,edge 6 to cooperate withthe edge formation of the pressers, so that certain of said presserswill be operated towards'the needle bed to assume a position forpressing the beards oi the needles individual thereto and certain otherpressers, due

to their'edge formations, will miss being operated by the cam, thosepressers which are intended to cooperate with their needles for makingregular stitches being operated by the high parts or their edgeformations, contacting the cam, and those pressers whose needles areintended to make tuck stitches missing the cam.

Where it is desired to increase the capacity of the machine for making agreat number oi-variations in the .iabric the cam means may consist of aplurality of sections, these being shown in edge view Fig. 1 arrangedin-a bank, one above another. Each oi these sections is slidably mountedin a support or bracket in, and each is operated by a. cam bar or slideI, which are also mounted one above the other in said bracket 5a. Thesecam slides I may be operated by hand, the attendant using'any suitablehand implement or rod contacting the end portions of the slides to setthem either in active or inactive position. when any one of thesesliding cam plates'is set in position into the path or movement or highparts of the presser edge formations, the correpressers will be swimgontheir fulcrums and set in position to press the beards oi thecorresponding needles for forming regular stitches, whereas thosepressers which have low parts in their edge formations at the level orthis particular part -or plate of the cam organization will be missed bysaid cam and thereiorethese pressers will remain in their outermostpositions respecting their corresponding needles, and tuck stitches willbe formed on these needles.

The slide bars I for operating the parts the presser cam organizationare controlled by triction detents 8, under spring pressure. V

I! it should be desired that the machine be used for producing a iabrichaving only regular knit stitches, a presser cam 9 may be brought intoplay which will operate all the pressers of the machine to set them inposition to press the beairds of all the needles. This presser cam willbe held in its advanced position ready to operate allthepressersbyalatchill, engaging afiange ii of a sleeve ll screw threaded on a rod I2. whenthe latch is lifted, which may be done by hand, the rod 12 will beretracted by spring 43, immediately associated with the main presser camto retract it away from the path of the pressers, and thus the cam meansfor the variable control of the pressers may be rendered active. Thearrangement can be such that the action 01' the lower cam organizationfor variably controlling. the pressers may be nullified by the upper cammember l which, as above stated, would operate all the pressers oi thewhole row for making regular stitches.

All needles can knit by placing in action the entire lower camorganization, that is, the cam section 5 and all the other cam sectionsassociated therewith and arranged below it, but in mill practice thesinker cap presser cam would be used edge readily will seat itself onthe spring band.

' the guide walls for the needles.

a notch of the flange.

insertable into place. It will be noted in this connection that thelower outwardly curved end of the presser is slightly tapered and endsin a rounded point directed laterally and downwardly. Hence the presserreadily may be thrust into 5 place back of the spring bands. The overallwidth oi this lower portion 01 the presser isless than the width 01' thepresser shank above the recess and this reduction in the width of thelower terminal portion of the presser shank contributes to the ease withwhich it may be inserted into place. As the upper curved edge definingthe' upper end or the recess at the lower outer edge of the presserraces downwardly this lin making replacements the presser readily can beremoved by drawing it upwardly, it being noted as above pointed out thatthe lower reduced end of the presser curves downwardly and outwardly,thus presenting no abrupt shoulder obstructions to the withdrawal of thepresser.

The upper overhanging projection of the presser defining the upper endof the recess therein tends to maintain the upper spring band properlyseated in thenotches oi the walls deilning the slots in the needlecylinder. All the spring bands, including the one shown at I! forholding the needles slidably in place are seated in notches in the guidewalls of the cylinder.

It will be noted also that the' lower terminal end of the presser liesin a vertical plane betweenthe vertical planes of the inner and outeredges of the main shank of the presser above the recess which alsocontributes to the ease with which the presser may be inserted orremoved.

By the construction disclosed herein the pressers are iulcrumedindependently oi. the needles.

there being no contact between the presser and is on the spring bandwhich is seated in not'ches in 40 Itwill he understood that in order toincrease the capacity of the pressers for making the variations in thefabric the. low parts of the edge formations may be formed as shown bothabove and below the plane of the high parts 01' said formations.

Reverting to the latcharrangement tor the upper presser cam 8: when thelatch II is released from the position shown in Fig. l, and the springl3 forces the bolt 12 with the sleeve M with its flange ll outwardly,the said flange will come against the head llb oi stop screw lid inwhich position the sleeve will be held by a latch Ila against beingpushed inwardly towards the center of the machine until such time thatthe operator desires to set the presser cam in action. The operator thenreleases the latch Ila, which pivots on the screw I Id, and then he canpush the rod or bolt inwardly to set the presser cam in operativeposition, whereupon the parts will be held by the latch Ill engagingover the edge of the flange i I, as shown in Fig. 1, said latch fittingin A nut ll having a knurled finger piece I1 and a lock nut I I allowadjustment oi the screw rod relative to the sleeve l4.

Operators on regular machines, 1. e. machines not having thereon thepresent subsidiary cam means for producing tuck stitches are alert toavoid running the machine it the usual presser cam 9 is in retractedposition because damage to the fabric will result ii this cam is not inits working position when the machine is put in operation.

The natural tendency or habit is tor the operator, when he notices thatpresser cam such as 8 is in idle position, to press the pressercaminwardly to its operative position. This action in the presentmachine having the improved pressers and the special cam means wouldresult in the upper usual cam 9 nullifying the action of the cam means5. The latch Ha will prevent this by engaging flange H to prevent therod It being pushed in, it being noted that rod I2 is associated withthe sleeve l4, carrying the flange I i.

I claim:

11. An individual presser for a spring needle adapted to have rockingmovement relative to said needle, said presser having at its upper partan inclined inner edge to contact the needle beard, and having at itslower part a recess facing outwardly, said recess at its upper end beingdefined by the curved under edge of an overhanging projection whichcurved edge has its concave facing downwardly and affording a fulcrumpoint upon which the presser may rock, said presser below said fulcrumbeing of reduced width and terminating in a laterally downwardly andoutwardly curved end, the concave edge of which faces the recess andaffords a seat for a spring band, substantially as described.

2. In combination in a spring' needle knitting machine, spring beardneedles, individual pressers for the needle beards, said pressers havingrecesses at their lower portions facing outwardly and defined at theupper and lower portions thereof by curved edges facing each other, and

a pair of spring bands, one above the other in therecess seated againstsaid curved edges, the upper band serving as a fulcrum upon which thepresser may rock and the lower band serving to rock the presser toinactive position, substantially as described.

' 3. An individual presser for spring beard needles having at its upperpart an inner edge to contact a needle beard and having at a lower partof its outer edge a recess facing outwardly, which recess at its upperend has a downwardly extending projection spaced apart from the bottomof the recess to engage a fulcrum and thus hold the presser from contactwith the needle, said recess being of a length to receive below saidfulcrum a spring band for returning the presser after being operated,substantially as described.

4. A knitting machine having spring beard needles, pressers having attheir upper part inner edges to contact the needle beards and eachhaving at a lower part of its outer edge a recess facing outwardly,which recess at its upper end has a downwardly extending projectionspacedjapart from the bottom of the recess, a fulcrum member at theupper end of said outer recess contacting with the said presser and theinner side of said projection to hold the presser out of contact withthe needle, and a spring band in said outwardly facing recess below thefulcrum to return the presser to normal position.

5. An individual presser for a spring needle, said presser having at itsupper part an inclined inner edge to contact the needle beard, andhaving at its lower part a recess facing outwardly,

said recess being defined at its upper end by a curved downwardly facingedge and downwardly KENNETH Ho.

